


Darkened Halls

by WhereAreTheBreaks



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: F/M, Loki in Hiding, More tags to be added, Post-Thor: The Dark World, Slow Build, Wedding
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-05-12
Updated: 2014-08-04
Packaged: 2018-01-24 10:39:43
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 10,122
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1601927
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WhereAreTheBreaks/pseuds/WhereAreTheBreaks
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Darcy heads to Asgard with Jane and Thor for a wedding and some unexpected things happened during her stay.</p><p>Post Thor the Dark World.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Arrival

**Author's Note:**

> Unbeta'd so sorry for any ungodly mistakes. I hope you enjoy! Feel free to comment, I love getting feedback from readers. x

“Darcy!” Someone is pounding on her apartment door and it’s four am. “Darcy, open up!”

Darcy has been awake since she heard the first knock on the door three minutes ago, somewhere in the back of her sleep idled mind she knows she recognizes the voice. After a couple more seconds staring at the ceiling of her room she finally decides to get up and get this over with.

She stumbled through her dark apartment to the door, throwing it open and leaning against the door frame as she took in the sight of Thor and Jane in front of her.

“Lady Darcy, you’re awake!” Darcy rolled her eyes at Thor’s words, yawning at the end of it.

“Well the two of you made sure of that now didn’t you? Whatever this is about, can it wait till morning?” She yawned once more.

“No! No no no no. You have to pack, right now.” Jane practically shouted in her face before she pushed past Darcy and into the apartment.

“Pack?” She turned to Thor for answers but he just had this blank look on his face. “Jane, what do you mean pack?”

There was a bunch of rustling and thumps coming from her bedroom, fully awake now she waved Thor in before she went back to investigate.

Jane was tearing apart her room and shoving most of the clothes she found into the only suit case Darcy owned. She wasn’t even being the neat freak Jane usually was, she was just throwing the clothes in the thing without folding them.

“Jane? Jane! What the hell are you doing?” Jane didn’t answer, just continued to throw clothes into the suit case on her bed.

With a quick glance into her living room she saw that Thor was taking a great interest in every little thing she own. Mostly he just stood there staring at her lone goldfish, completely and totally mesmerized as he watched the little guy swim around the glass bowl.

“Big guy,” he looked up at her. “What the heck is going on with Jane? Why is she packing all the clothes I own?”

“The Lady Jane wishes to bring you with us to the wedding.” He said while puffing out his chest.

“Oh yeah right, the wedding…” She looked up at him with wide confused eyes.

This is where Jane decided to finally chime in. “We’re heading back to Asgard to get married!” Her smile was infectious and soon all three of them were smiling and Thor had his arm around both of their shoulders.

“You guys have got to give me a little bit more warning next time, I can’t always drop everything and leave whenever you guys want me too.” She sighed before pulling the clothes out to fold them so she could actually close the stupid thing. “How long are we going to be away? A week?”

Thor and Jane exchanged a look before turning back towards her. “A month or maybe more?”

Darcy gave them _the look_. “You guys!” She whined. “I don’t get paid enough for this.” She muttered under her breath as she resumed her folding.

“You don’t get payed at all.” Jane said while giving her a strange look.

Darcy rolled her eyes as she slowly filled the suit case.

-x-

 

An hour or so later Darcy was all packed and ready to go, though when she enter the living room she got an eyeful of Jane and Thor about to go at it.

“Oh Jesus guys! Are you going to be like this the whole time? Because if you are I think I might skip.” She wouldn’t miss it for the world and they both knew that.

Jane jumped up and quickly readjusted her clothes as a bright red blush spread across her face, neck and chest. Thor just looked completely blissed out and his eyes were somewhat glazed over.

“Oh ah,” Jane cleared her throat and let out an awkward laugh, Jane noticed the fat as hell suitcase in Darcy’s hands and asked; “Are you ready to go?”

Darcy had to refrain she going ‘duh’ but the look on her face broadcasted the message loud and clear as she gestured to the bulging suitcase.

“Alright, then I guess it’s time to leave.” Jane said with a smile on her face and a hop in her step as she made a bee-line straight for Darcy’s front door. Thor chuckled as he watched her, a big goofy grin on his face.

Completely ignoring the fact that Jane was practically skipping down the stair Darcy decided to slowly stroll next to her favorite Norse God. She watched as he tried and failed to tap down the stupidly big grin that was spreading across his face.

“You’re excited aren’t ya? It’s going to be your big day soon enough!”

“I am overjoyed that I will finally be able to marry the Lady Jane, my father did not approve in the beginning. That matters not, for now we are able.”

That was all that was said between the two as they caught up to Jane, who was waiting for them in a large empty section of the parking lot. As soon as the two lovers were reunited, even though it was like half a minute tops sense they had last been together, they embraced like they hadn’t seen each other in eons.

Darcy just couldn’t seem to stop herself from rolling her eye just one last time that morning.

After their kissed ended Thor wrapped his arms around both of their shoulders before looking up at the sky and shouting, “Heimdall, we’re ready.”

Seconds later they were surrounded by the bright colors of the Bi-Frost.

“Welcome,” A large voice echoed through the chamber they wound up in, “to Asgard.”

The place was absolutely beautiful.

The massive golden palace stood tall at the end of the rainbow bridge looking much like the pipes of an organ, it was mesmerizing the way the light hit them just right to create a glow around everything.

Darcy stepped out of the dome room of the Bi-Frost to better look around and take in all the sights before her. She spun in place to get the full picture of the place that lay before her.

Thor stood back from the two girls, watching them with an amused smile that didn’t escape Darcy’s busy gaze.

Jane stood at the doorway staring open mouthed at the sight of a place she had already been, though Darcy supposed that she was a bit preoccupied with the whole filled-with-dark-matter-going-to-die-soon thing to really take in the sights.

Once they had both taken in the sights Thor cleared his throat softly to get their attention before motioning for them to move forward and towards the very thing they had spent the past few minutes gaping at.

The rainbow bridge wasn’t nearly as long as it seemed to be, it only took them a few minutes of excited yet easy chit chat between girls for them to reach the end.

A blonde haired woman dressed in a soft grey dress meet them at the entrance to the golden castle. She welcomed Thor with a warm embrace before he placed a soft kiss on his cheek; she turned towards the two other girls standing off to the side.

“Welcome, to our home.” 

*******************

 

The woman escorted Thor and the two girls into the place watching the girls look around and admire things with an amused grin. She led them to the throne room were Odin sat waiting in his mighty throne.

“Father,” Thor started. “I am pleased that you allow Jane, Darcy, and I to stay for some time before the ceremony.”

Odin’s only response was to incline his had as some sort of vague gesture of acceptance. His ridiculous eye patch glinted in the light as he did it as did the rest of his over the top outfit.

Seriously, the Asgardians might have a bit of a superior life style but humans clearly have the better fashion sense.

“We will prepare a feast for tonight in honor of our guests.” Odin’s voice carried and echoed through the empty hall. He waved a guard over, “Show the girls to their rooms.”

This is kind of how she found herself wandering through the darkened hallways of the palace with an armed guard at her elbow, directing her on when to turn and such. Her room seemed to as far from everything as physically possible, they had been walking and twisting and turning for what felt like forever to Darcy.

After a couple more twists and turns she was finally pulled to a stop in front of a tall door.

“These will be your quarters throughout your stay here. A stay I hope you find most pleasant Midguardian.” His voice was deeper than she had been expecting but at least he was being nice. “You will find all of your belongings inside.”

And then he left.

She turned back towards the door, “I’m never going to be able to open this thing on my own! It’s got to be over a thousand pounds.”

Undeterred by the sere size of the door she turned the knob and threw all of her weight against it. Surprisingly it flew open once she started leaning against it, which kind of meant that she ended up face planting.

“Oof. I guess it wasn’t that heavy.” She sighed as she pushed herself up off the ground.

She looked around the large room she had been placed in, taking in the sight of so many old books and papers covering every surface, the ink stains on the drapes by the desk, and the green, black and gold color scheme of the room.

“It was Prince Loki’s room.” The voice was deep and had a slight British tinge to it. A tall man stood leaning against the door frame to her temporary room, watching her with cold green eyes.

The strange man seemed to blend into the shadows, easily hiding in the dark shadows of the room and hallway.

“Why did they put me in here? Surely the king might want this room untouched.” She was still taking in the fine details of said room, all the little knick knacks that lined overflowing shelves, the staining of the wood from old mischief.

“The king doesn’t care. No one does.”

That definitely pulled her from her thoughts, and she spun around to face him once more.

“Thor cares. It practically destroyed him, Jane was the only one that could make him do anything after the fight in London.” She paused briefly. “That’s probably what made him ask her to marry him.” She said with a small smile.

The mysterious man stayed quiet for a while after hearing her words, so she went back to investigating the room.

“Is there anywhere else I can stay?” She asked. She ran her fingers feather light over the spines of some of the stranger books.

“I’m afraid not, this is the only empty room left.” He said after a moment’s pause. “Is that going to be a problem?”

She shook her head and walked over to the bed, sitting down on the edge.

“Who are you?” He asked.

She looked over at him, barely able to make out the outline of his figure only able to see the beautiful green eyes staring back at her.

“I’m Darcy, Darcy Lewis.” She chuckled at the fact that she’d basically had a James Bond moment. She didn’t ask him his name, she had a feeling that he wouldn’t tell her; well, actually, the way he was able to blend into the shadows seamlessly was clue enough that he probably wasn’t the most truthful person.

She stayed a few moments longer, waiting for him to say something else, before she left to go investigate the rest of the palace and see the rest of the sights. The strange man didn’t say anything as she pushed her way past him.

 

******************

 

As Darcy wandered the halls she absolutely refused to accept that she was lost, because she wasn’t. Maybe she hadn’t paid as much attention to the twist and turns that led to her temporary room but that didn’t necessarily mean that she was lost.

Just as she turned a corner she ran into something hard, well actually firm would be a better way to describe the wall of pure muscle that met her.

“Lady Darcy.” It was the shadow guy again. “You seem to be a bit lost.”

“Nope, I’m not. Maybe just a bit turned around but I think lost is a strong word.” She felt his chest rumble with a quiet chuckle before she stepped back. “Maybe you could point me in the correct direction?” She couldn’t help to little bit of hope that seeped into her voice.

The man just chuckled before giving her a gentle push towards the hallway she had just walked past. His hands were big and a little bit chilly against the small of her back, it was a bit distracting. “Take two lefts and three rights and then you should find yourself in the throne room.” 

She nodded and walked quickly so she wouldn’t forget before she made it out of the maze.

Which she did successfully, thank all the gods. 

Once she actually made it into the throne room she didn’t actually know where to begin, everything was so big and she wanted to see all of it. The obvious choice was of course the outdoors, she could get a the very least a basic view of the city and go into detail as her stay went on.

She ended up spending the better part of the afternoon roaming through the on grounds gardens, admiring all the strange plants until at tall shadow gave her pause.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Darcy does a little exploring before getting roped into wedding planning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long wait, I had finals week and a bunch of projects. It was hectic to say the least.
> 
> Anyway, I hope you enjoy!

Darcy spun around to face the source of the menacing shadow and was pretty surprised to see Odin towering over her. He was in his shiny golden robes that looked like they were made out of fancy hard to find cloths that she had probably never heard of. Definitely giving off that rich and powerful vibe.

“I hope you are finding things to your liking.” The All-Father practically forced out. It was pretty obvious that he was not enjoying her presence in his home. Or er, plant... whatever.

“You know, you don’t have to let me stay here if you don’t actually want me here.” She really wasn’t in the mood to deal with someone like him. She's had to deal with enough assholes as is on Earth and was really not in the mood to be dealing with them during her off planet vacation.

He looked a little surprised at her words. Though, Darcy supposed it wasn’t everyday that some random little human called him out. “Even though you think that you are unwelcome, Thor has welcomed you into his life with open arms. It would be...rather rude of me to not at least try to do the same.” 

To Darcy that sounded like the most half assed apology she had ever heard, she didn’t say anything though. She had a feeling he wasn’t always the best with feelings or words. So she just gave him the side eye before turning back to the plants.

“What are you doing out here?” He asked, eyeing her curiously.

She sighed and gave him a 'duh' look. "I'm taking in the sights, I've never seen anything like this place before. I can't help it if I want to explore and investigate." She answered before smiling sardonically up at him.

He nodded his understanding as he took the garden in as if he was seeing it for the first time. It wasn't long before he was going off to do whatever it was that Odin did; leaving Darcy to continue on with her explorations.

The palace gardens were overflowing with life; filled with flowers she'd never seen the likes of before in stunning colors, shapes, patterns, and sizes. 

Although, tucked away in a corner a little ways away from the rest was a little patch dedicated to flowers that she definately knew from earth. A comfort to her in a forgein land filled with roses, daisies, tulips and lilies along with many others that she couldn't remember the name of; she was a  political science major not a botanist.

Everyday of the first week of her stay was spent running around Asgard, exploring new places and taking in the sights of things she might never see again. Whether it be tasting things she couldn't dream of pronouncing or walking with Jane through the crowded market place she was always having a good time.

Sometimes Thor's friend Fandral even tagged along, though she doesn't really remember things from those nights, only that she somehow made it back to the room she was staying in unscathed.

It was actually the second week of her stay that things got hectic; Jane started to plan the wedding and make final decisions about things and it was driving her a bit insane. And Darcy thought Jane without coffee was bad.

Thor was definitely looking worse for wear, Jane must be keeping him up with all the planning or... possibly something much more desirable. But Darcy really didn't want to think about that. Ever.

"Darcy!" Came a shrill shout. Oh god, this was then end of her awesome vacation. "Darcy! I need your opinion on some things." 

Darcy was paralyzed were she stood in the grand golden hallway as she watched Jane run towards her whipping a piece of paper around as she did so.

"Yeah Jane?" Darcy nervously asked. 

Jane had become increasingly unhinged over the last couple of days. Everyone had become very nervous and jumpy around as they all waited for her to blow.

"We need to figure out the color of the bridesmaid dresses and who we're going to invite from earth, it's going to be a small wedding but Thor wants to invite the Avengers and I want to invite my parents and a handful of friends, but surprisingly there aren't that many available rooms in the palace. So we have to consolidate and you've always been really good at organizing so I need your help." Jane rushed out.

Darcy really didn't know how to respond to that; and honestly she wasn't entirely sure of what Jane was asking. "Um... Okay?" What did she just agree to?

"Oh man, you are a lifesaver Darcy!" Jane praised right before she shoved a pile of papers into Darcy's not so waiting arms.

Before Darcy could even think about asking anything or changing her mind, Jane had already taken off down the hallway; literally running away from Darcy as quickly as she could.

"Great, more work that I don't get paid for. And on my vacation of all times." She muttered and grumbled to herself.

"Need some help with that?"

"Jesus." Darcy startled almost dropping the pile of papers. "Give a girl some warning would you. You almost gave me a heart attack."

The Mystery Man from her first day began to chuckle at her antics. "I suppose I should be a bit more considerate, who know how much time you have left." The tiny mortal was heavily implied.

Darcy just rolled her eyes, "From what I've heard you Asgardians aren't exactly immortal either. So I'd watch it."

"Are you threatening me?" His voice was pitched lower giving it a dangerous tone.

Darcy didn't even respond to that, only gave him a look that clearly said 'really', before turning to walk back to her temporary room. 

Since that first night Darcy had taken the time to learn her way through the halls until she knew her way around the palace with relative ease.

She could hear the man trailing after her as she walked, the quiet thump of his boots and her sneakers on the rug covered tile was the only sound that could be heard.

He didn't speak again until they got to her room and when he did it was only to wish her a peaceful nights sleep.

That night though, her dreams were filled with a green eyed alien well known on Earth for having destroyed a good chunk of New York. It wasn't a nightmare, it was just normal things that two people might do together, which made it a heck of a lot weirder, but mostly they just sat and talked about nothing inparticular.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Breakfast at Asgard

When Darcy woke up the next morning she was really confused, Loki was not someone she ever imagined herself dreaming about at any point in her life. Sure, she thought about him from time to time but that was because she was so grateful that he had helped save Jane and Thor. And really, she hadn't even met the guy; there was absolutely no reason for the dream.

She was interrupted from her early morning analysis by Jane announcing that breakfast was ready and waiting for them. 

"Darcy? Darcy? There's food... Possibly coffee assuming Thor hasn't drunk the whole pot again." Jane had coaxed from where she had stuck her head through a small opening in the door.

"Food?" Darcy lazily rubbed at her startling blue eyes with the back of her hand. "And it's ready now?"

"Yeah. I promise that this isn't another ploy to get you up early, I learned my mistake the hard way last time thank you." Prim and chipper as always. 

Darcy let out a low groan at the thought of getting completely out of bed. Because, waking up and getting out of bed were two very different things.

And then the word food seeped it's way into her consciousness, and she was way more awake.

Anything other than food was immediately forgotten as she hurriedly threw on some decent clothes and shoes before pulling her dark curls into a messy ponytail and putting on her thick rimmed black glasses.

She was still lightly rubbing the last of the sleep out of her eyes as she finally made her to the dining hall. 

Every square inch of the huge table in front of her was covered in food and everyone within the palace walls was in the room. At first no one notices her quiet enterence but that quickly changes when Jane starts to frantically wave her over.

"Darcy, I'm really going to need your help with the planning today. Hopefully you can have what I gave you done by the end of the week. You can right? What am I saying, of course you can. Anyway, we really need to get all the big stuff done and then all the little things will fall into place right?"

It became clear to Darcy in that moment that she was definitely going to be staying longer than a month. 

"Right, everything will totally work itself out." She hastily replied. She hoped she sounded at least a little bit reassuring, but the panicked look she was sending Thor's way sort of broke the illusion of calm and collected that she was going for.

Jane didn't seem to notice, or at least, she wasn't commenting on it. She was a bit preoccupied with a large three ringed binder, that appeared out of nowhere, though so she probably just didn't notice. 

So Darcy sat down at the only empty seat left; the one between Jane and Fandral, and began filling her plate. It ended up being completely covered in an assortment of different foods that Darcy had found to mind blowingly delicious. Things from far away lands with pronounceable names and had tastes unlike anything she'd ever though possible.

The conversation was light and easy, mostly because no one brought up the wedding. And even though most of the people sitting around them don't want to admit it, they are in fact a little bit afraid of little ol' Jane Foster from Earth. Though, Darcy had been around Jane for quite some time and she can tell you that it is actually pretty reasonable to be a wee bit afraid of her. The woman could get a bit irrational when she needed to.

Then again Darcy isn't a highly trained warrior so... she wasn't entirely sure why they were afraid. She did think that it had somethin to do with the Lady Sif though.

After breakfast Darcy headed back to her room for all the papers that she apparently need to organize. She was already missing the way she would go out to hit the town immediately after eating. But anything to help a friend, right? 

Darcy let out a sigh as she turned yet another corner as she made her way expertly through the halls. She only briefly stopped to admire the masterfully painted scenes that took up huge portions of wall artfully spread out to seem almost casual. She'd taken the time to go through and look at most of them, although, she might have been half drunk on the overtly powerful alcohol that they passed around by the gallon. So she doesn't really remember them all that well.

"You're back surprisingly early." 

Darcy did not jump so hard that she hit her head on the wall. Nope. Didn't happen. 

She did let out a frustrated sigh. "You know what, the whole hiding in the shadows thing is getting really old. Is there even a reason for hiding? It's not like I know anyone on Asgard besides Thor, Sif, and the Warriors Three anyway."

There wasn't an immediate reply, so Darcy just continued to walk to her room. It was just as she was turning the door knob that he replied, "You would know me."

It was vague and simple but clearly didn't make sense; unless he was Loki... who was dead. Right?

"I highly doubt that." She retreated into her room.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have never planned a wedding and I have only ever attended one wedding so... things are probably wrong.

Darcy spent the rest of the morning locked inside her room going over page after page of information that Jane would need before she sent out wedding invitations. Things like budgets, invitation designs, place setting ideas, cake tasting times, and so on so forth. It was boring and tedious and she wanted to cry half way through. 

So when she finally reached the end of her torture she sprung out of her chair and kind of started to dance around the room. Nothing special. Except... she did start singing...

“I am the champion. I AM THE CHAMPION. No time for losers, cause I am the champion... OF THE ‘VERSE!!” She sang, loudly and off key, before throwing herself back onto her bed. “God, it feels so good to be free!” She shouted into her pillow before promptly passing out. Hey, that was some hard work, she’s totally entitled to a nap.

 

__*___*___*___*___*___*___*

 

While she was asleep someone knocked on her door, she didn’t wake up of course (she’s a heavy sleeper and probably would wake up if the building was crumbling around her.) so the knocker came in, assuming that the room was empty. 

Loki slowly pushed the door open and slipped easily inside. He didn’t even notice the body on the bed until it let out a loud snore before turning over and settling once more. And he didn't even jump out of his skin, only mildly startled, or at least that's how he is going to be telling. Even though she was settled he wasn't entirely sure of her sleep, so he watched for a few moments before giving in to temptation.

He carefully approached the bed, looking down at the girl with her black hair spread out across the emerald sheet and her black glasses falling off her pretty face. 

He slowly slipped the glasses off her nose before gently placing them on the table beside the bed. An attempt to make the girl slightly more comfortable, though looking at the angle of her neck, she might be uncomfortable either way. Some clothes on the floor caught his eye, it was never something he would see when he lived there, there was always someone to come in and gather the clothes up before they became a problem. Things were obviously different with this 'Darcy' girl.

He looked around the room, taking in all the subtle changes that had come about in the last week. All the little things stood out like her black jacket thing on the back of his desk chair, how his things had been carefully pushed out of the way of her somewhat clumsy limbs, how she had added  her own knick knacks, and how her papers now covered his once organized desk. She seemed to bring a life to it where here had previously been none, the room seemed warmer and far more welcoming than he had seen in some time. 

After a few more moments of looking he left the room just as quietly as he had entered it. He had a slight smile on his face, some might say it was almost fond.

 

__*___*____*____*____*____*____

 

It was an hour or two before Darcy woke up to Jane barging into her room.

"How much do you have done? Have you started? Can you be done sooner?"Jane blurted. There was a wild look in her eye that just screamed of a lack of sleep. She also had her scientific journal tucked under her arm, and a pen tucked into her wild hair. "Something has come up and Thor, Sif, and the Warriors have to leave as soon as possible for business on Jotunnheim." She continued to rush. "They have some time before they need to leave so the All-Father decided to push the wedding ceremony forward."

"How much time do we have to get everything done?" 

Jane looked sheepish, scuffing her foot across the floor she muttered something under her breath. It was to quiet and garbled to hear but, if she couldn't already tell, she knew she wouldn't have liked the answer. But she need to know so she pushed:

"I'm sorry I could hear you, what were you saying?"

The answer was slightly louder unintelligible garbles.

Darcy rolled her eyes and sat up in the heavenly bed to cross her arms over her rather generous chest. "Jane, would you please just tell me?" 

"Next week?" Jane was cringing at her own words though there was still hope in her eyes.

Darcy sighed before answering, "You're lucky I pushed through this." She turned and grabbed the overturned stack of papers from the old desk.

Jane squealed like a teenage girl that just saw her favorite celebrity, all high pitched and filled with joy and excitement. She practically ripped the pages out of Darcy's outstretched hand.

"Thank you. Thank you. Thank you!" She repeated as she jumped up and down, roping Darcy into a bone crushing hug. Suddenly Jane pulled away, but she kept Darcy at arms length holding her by her shoulders. Jane eyed the younger girl curiously though Jane wasn't very good at reading people, not as good as Darcy at the very least, so she had to ask. "Are you going to invite Ian? As your date I mean."

"Oh... uh, no. It didn't work out all that well, it started out as a heat of the moment things and it probably should have stayed that way." Darcy replied not bothering to hide the slight disappointment in her voice.

"Okay. Well that's..." Jane could seem to find the right word and her mind went off into the pros and cons of all the things because at least this meant that there was one less thing to worry about. They hadn't really heard from him sense that whole London mess so they would've had to track them down, which they most definitely did not have time for. On the other hand, Darcy had really like the guy it seemed, but she didn't look to torn up about it so... Her thoughts trailed off and she was brought back to the moment, Darcy was staring at her expectantly. "Yeah." She finished lamely.

Darcy mouth quirked up in a small smile an she pushed unhappy thought away because she had to help her friend get married. "Holy shit!"

Jane startled slightly whipping her head up to look at her. "What?"

"Your getting married!" The look Jane gave her was priceless and clear said 'your just getting this now?' "This like just sunk in for me, your getting married. To a god, a hot blonde muscular god." A huge smile spread across her face as she was suddenly filled with glee.

Jane just looked more confused after hearing Darcy's not so great explanation,  she actually looked like a puppy for a few seconds before she sighed and muttered something that sounded an awful lot like "why do I even bother sometimes?" before leaving the room.

Darcy just sort of sat there for a few moments before decidingnto go out an find something interesting to do. She rushed out the door and through the hallways, lost in the thought of all the things she could do she didn't notice the world spinning or the ground coming up to meet her as fell flat on her face after tripping on the seemingly endless rug the covered the length of the hallway. 

Thor's laugh caught her by surprise, he was standing not too far from her and had probably seen the whole thing.

"Oh Darcy, your people truely amuse me. I have never had the pleasure of watching such things happen as they do on Midgard so frequently." His voice was loud and joyous as he walked over to give a helping hand, one that he use to easily pull her from the floor with.

"Yeah," She started to reply but wavered slightly as she took a step forward. She let out a long breath before continuing, "Well we can't all be built like a freight train." She said with a laugh as she poked jokingly at his hard chords of muscle that he referred to as arms. "Some of us small folk don't always make the best choices." She shrugged in a 'What can you do?' manner.

He laughed once more before quickly sobering up. "Darcy, I'm a bit worried about Jane. She has become a bit... over excited about going through with some Midgardian wedding customs and I'm a little worried."

"Oh, that just something Jane always does, she becomes invested which leads to obsession which leads to a little too much sleep loss. It happens every once in awhile, she'll move past it." She tried to reassure.

"Is there anything I might be able to do? I feel useless, she hasn't asked me to do anything or help with organizing." He sounded dejected and possibly a little hurt, she wasn't always the best at reading people.

"Well it's not like you guys have wedding planners here."

"A wedding planner?"

"Some one who is paid to do all the things that Jane is doing so that she doesn't have to." 

"... I think we might have someone like that. I don't know why I didn't think of it before." He looked like he was pretty close to jumping for joy.

Darcy laughed, "Hey, there is a reason that Janey keeps me around. I'm not completely useless you know."

"Darcy you are brilliant and a feirce warrior, you are also kind and beautiful. There is no reason Jane would not want you around. You are her friend." He said; suddenly solemn. 

"Well that got a little heavy." Darcy responded a few beats later.

"Darcy, do not think that you are useless or unwanted just because you do not yet realize all the reasons that people love you or the characteristics they value that you do not yet see." 

She smiled up at him but didn't reply. They stood there for a few more moments before Thor cleared his throat loudly.

"I must go and find a 'wedding planner', I'll see you at dinner." Thor said as he walked away.

At least Jane would be a little saner. Though, Darcy started to wonder what Thor and the others were going to be doing on Jotunnheim that made everyone push the date forward. It was very odd.


	5. Chapter 5

Thor did in fact manage to hunt down the Asgardian's equivalent to a wedding planner. The woman was older looking but still beautiful, she had silver hair that shined like moonlight on clear calm waters, she almost didn't look as old as she no doubt could be if it wasn't for the deep laugh lines around her bright life filled brown eyes. The way she acted and spoke told of her years of experience and intelligence. Her voice was gentle and somewhat quiet but it held an authority to it the demanded she be listened to. She was pretty badass, almost as badass as Sif.

She whipped Jane into a calmer state almost instantly, swooping in and taking over like it was what she was born to do. She talked with Jane and Thor so that they could make _joint_ decisions. Things were going surprisingly smoothly, Jane was going back to give her parents and the Avengers their invites, the palace staff was given plans for the feast, and things were going well.

Which meant that Darcy had way more free time than she thought she would and so she was left with her thoughts and anything interesting she could find. Which wasn't all that much because of the sight seeing that she had done in the beginning.

That's kind of how her next few days went; her wandering aimlessly through the hallways lost wholesomely in her thoughts. 

Early that afternoon she bumped into Fandral, he had his head down as he inspect his stylish black boot for some invisible scuff that was probably him just trying to seem all nonchalant.

"We must stop meeting like this Lady Darcy," He laughed easily. His blue eyes were bright and full of mirth as they scanned over her body not all too quickly. 

"Oh, uh, yeah..." It wasn't a common occurrence for her to be checked out, she was all little daunted in the face of... all of him. 

There seriously had to be something in the water, there was no other way that these people could all be so beautiful.

Fandral took her stuttered non-answer in stride and continued the conversation easily; he asked about her plans for the evening to which she replied that she didn't have any, and he ended up inviting her for a round of drinks at the end of the day.

Something to look forward too, she thought, though she still didn't have anything to do until then.

"You better watch yourself around that one, he craves woman the way a child craves sweets: constantly." 

Darcy spun around to 'face' the man lurking in the deep dark shadows not to far behind her. "Oh, don't you have something more pressing than creeping up on me all the time?" She snapped. She wasn't in the mood to deal with this weirdo.

"Not anymore." Was the soft reply; it was full of a lost hope, and something that screamed 'I'm broken'. She was surprised that she had never noticed before, this man now seemed to be such a lost creature hiding under the cloak of darkness.

"So, what do you do all day? When you aren't following me around I mean." 

There was a pregnant pause and some shuffling before the man finally and answered. "Most I cause a little chaos around here, there just isn't a lot that a man like me can."

"And what kind of man is that?"

Yet another overly long drama filled pause.

"A dead man." He delivered it so perfectly that for a moment she thought she could be acting in a movie. This guy was so dramatic, she was a pretty big bit surprised that he had managed to keep his identity a secret for this long.

"Yeah okay and the academy award for dramatics goes to..." She whispered under her breath, looking off to the side as she did so.

"What?" So confused; he was so, so confused.

"It's... nothing." She sighed. All her comebacks were completely useless because no in this realm understood her vague references, not that everyone back home understood them.

She waited to see if the man was going to say anything else before she continued to walk around until she got to the library.

It was a huge room in the middle of the palace; all the walls were lined with shelves with more evenly spaced throughout the remaining space, there wasn't a single available space and the books were from everywhere in a  
bunch of obscure languages. Most of the books were older with cracked spines and yellowing pages filled with all kinds of knowledge. Darcy wondered if Jane had found the room yet, though considering that she hadn't yet locked herself in it was a but unlikely.

It was a great place to loose yourself, most of the books were nonfiction and full of battles and conquests from the other realms. A lot of them were a bit unbelievable and fascinating, they definitely held her attention.

She spent hours in there, surrounded by a world she would never go and a history she didn't think possible. 

Actually she spent days curled up on some of the padded benches stroon around the library. When she wasn't helping Jane and Thor with organization and the little details of their wedding she would go into the library and curl up with a new book.

Before she realized she was being pushed into her room by Natasha Romanov who was telling her to hurry up and get dressed.

It was Jane and Thor's wedding day.


	6. Chapter 6

People were dashing around the strikingly decorated gardens as they struggled to put the last few details of the wedding in place. Chairs were still being put out, more royal blue and bright red streamers were being artfully positioned around tables and archways, and Jane was being not so carefully shoved into her wedding dress. Everything was going well, all things considered. The weather was warm and pleasant, some of the most beautiful flowers in the garden with blooming, and no one had let Tony Stark anywhere near the Asgardians surprisingly potent alcohol; though Pepper had to be thanked for that, the woman was a goddess in disguise.

The Avengers really stood out among the flow-y dresses and armor clad warriors in their suits and dress, or vintage uniform in Steve's case.

Their body language made everything about them stand out a bit more, the way they held themselves; always geared up for a fight.

Darcy looked down at the blue dress that Natasha had thrusted into her arms and not even an hour ago, it was a deep blue that fit right in with the color scheme of the wedding. It actually looked half decent for a bridesmaid dress, well not really; it reminded her of a Disney princess dress in style, though also a bit of a vagina flower. Although, it could be considered flattering; if it wasn't for the odd bits and pieces that were seemly random, an after thought really.

The Black Widow's gown looked like it was made for her, a simple deep green design that clung to her curves and fit the floor. She looked like a runway model.

Tony, Clint, and Bruce looked absolutely dashing in their tuxedos, if not a little exuberant.

She approached the crowd of heroes slowly, in small measured steps, unconsciously giving them all time to spot her.

"Hey, glad you guys could make it." Totally nonchalant and casual, did not sound at all like the total fangirl she could sometimes be.

"Well, who would I be to miss out on the scientific wonders that Asgard had to offer?" Tony answered and he slowly spun to take in the happenings of the garden. Pepper not so subtly cleared her throat, prompting Tony to quickly continue. "Plus it'll be nice to see Point Break get hitched to The Brain. Where is the bride to be by the way? I wanted to talk to her about her Einstein Rosen Bridge theory before the party got going."

"Well I imagine Jane would be getting ready, you know, for her big day. Which is the whole reason we all came." Steve refuted while giving Tony an incredulous look.

Tony's only response was to roll his eyes before he turned to address Darcy. "And who are you, exactly?"

"Darcy Lewis, Jane's assistant and friend." Tony opened his mouth after hearing the word 'assistant'. "No I can't personally help you with her work I just enter data, setup equipment and drive the van."

Stark looked like a kicked puppy upon hearing her news, which happened to make Agent Romanov and Pepper roll their eyes in perfect synchronicity. Steve kept giving Tony an odd  
look and the other two boys were investigating the place as best they could.

"Any how, the wedding will get going soon so you have time to do... whatever it is you might want." She watched as they all looked varying degrees of excited at her words. "I have to go help out."

-x-

When Darcy made it to Jane's dressing room the bride was already being laced into her gown.

"Hows it going Jane? Still able to breathe properly?" She sounded gleeful, even to her own ears, as she watched another young girl tighter the laces of Jane's dress gradually.

"I've suddenly remembered why I prefer jeans if that's what you mean." Jane answered, her breathing sounding the tiniest bit labored. "Let me see your dress, does it fit under the ugly bridesmaid dress stereotype nicely?"

Darcy moved to stand directly in front of Jane before doing a little twirl.

"So it does." Jane answered her own question. Darcy didn't miss the smug grin that Jane was fighting a little too hard to keep down.

"Anyway, Thor's guests of honor have arrived. I bumped into them on my way over. Tony Stark wants to talk to you about your work. When I told him I wasn't much use he looked like someone  had just taken away his favorite toy."  Darcy informed her. She took the opportunity to give herself one last once over.

Jane gave her a small smile as the girl lacing her up gave her a few final tugs before tying them off.

Jane straightened up and looked at herself in the mirror, she reached up to touch her hair but the other girl batted her hand away. Darcy couldn't help but chuckle at the sight.

"So?" Jane asked. Her dress swished around her in the perfect princess dress. It was a full, floor length skirt with a beautiful long sleeved lace bodice.

"I think Thor's going to need to see a doctor, 'cause his jaw is gonna drop so hard it's gonna come unhinged. You look breathtaking." Darcy smiled as she watched Jane play with her skirts a little bit more.

Together they lost track of time, only coming back to themselves when Fandral came in, announcing that it was time for everyone to get into place.

"Alright, let's get this show on the road." Jane squeal. She even managed to sort of run towards the door in the ridiculous heels her mother had put her in.


	7. Chapter 7

Thor's face when Jane walked in was so priceless that Darcy just had to snap a picture on her iPod.  Something that she had avoided using so that she could save the battery for this moment. 

After he got over the inicial shock, he had the biggest, doofiest grin Darcy had ever seen. He had looked over at Darcy briefly almost like he was trying to say 'look at her, she's gonna be with me. Me!!'. It was pretty nauseatingly sweet, and at that moment he reminded Darcy of a little kid.

Darcy is woman enough to admit that her eyes teared up upon hearing the heartfelt words that they exchanged. The couple hadn't looked away from each other since the moment Jane had made it to the minister. They were completely wrapped up in their little world, unaware of all the 'aw's they were getting from the  
guests or the sniffling from  
a few of the people. 

The actually ceremony part of the wedding was surprisingly quick and soon enough the two had started to kiss at the ministers  
say so. Everyone one else was applauding and getting out of their chairs. Then they all were running off to the reception in the dining hall.

The dining room had been thoughroughly decorated in all things festive; balloons, streamers, you name it, it was on the walls and pillars. There was hardly and space for anything else left in the room.

Odin stood to give a speech before the food was supposed to be brought out. "My son has done a lot of things to make me proud. He has protected and served those who were unable to protect themselves, he has done unruly things in the names of saving those he loves. His character is admirable and soon he will make a fine king. These are all things that I have tried to teach him to be from a young age; so you must understand that when I say that I did not teach him to go  
against the word of his father and leader to go after this woman, it means that he has gone against everything that he once held most dear to find something that meant more to him than anything else. This woman, Jane Foster, is nothing less than his equal and I do not think that Thor could have found a woman more perfect for him if I had picked them out myself." 

Odin stared down at his  
son with a fondness in his eyes as he reached to grab his goblet. "To Thor and Jane, may they live long and for filling lives." He said as he raised his cup. His words were echoed in the voices of their friends and families and every raised their cups to their lips for a drink.

It wasn't until everyone was very near being settled once more that things got interesting. 

People were sitting and getting ready to dig into their food when the huge doors to the hall were pushed out and a confused and bleeding Fandral stumbled into the room. All the eyes in the room went between him and the Fandral sitting near Thor at the table.

"Well damn," said the Fandral  
next to Thor.  The air around the man rippled and shimmered as whatever spell broke. Loki was left   with a smirk and a 'what can you do' attitude.

Thor and Odin as well as most everyone in the room was left speechless.


	8. Chapter 8

Things were going well in Darcy's opinion. Especially for finding out that your prince/brother/son was not as dead as was once claimed. All anyone was doing was staring at the would-be king, watching as he remained calm under the pressure of the gazes of the people. 

"You." Someone called out, but it didn't draw the slightest bit of attention. 

"Me." Loki replied. His peircing eyes scanned through the crowd, no doubt on the hunt for his newest victim.

But then those fierce green eyes landed in her, and she realized that she was the one who had shouted. That in the back of her mind she had recognized that voice and now that same recognition was crawling it's way to the forfront of her thoughts. 

"You're the guy from the hallway, the one was always hiding in the shadows." She said accusingly. "No wonder you were hanging around. I was staying in your room!"

Loki looked unfairly smug under the circumstances, any other sane person would have been wide eyed and in a panic. Not Loki though, he just sat there in his chair watching everyone process things. 

To be frank, she wasn't expecting him; he was entirely too self entitles and power hungry to be the man she had briefly gotten to know. The man from the hallway was filled with sadness and self hatred, basically the complete opposite of what she perceived to be the prince before her.

Darcy was about to say more when the main doors to the banquet were slowly push open as Heimdal slid inside as quietly as he could. It was kind of pointless when everyone was already completely silent and looking for a distraction; so after he pushed the door closed behind him and turned, he was met with the full attention of shocked wedding goers.

"My king," His deep voice carried throughout the room. "I need to speak with you in private."

Odin nodded and calmly excited the room, followed closely by the gatekeeper. 

The room remained silent as everyone looked around to see if anyone else had any idea what was going on.

"I'm pretty sure you're supposed to be dead." Stark's voice rang out, startling a few people.

"Well, you all thought want I wanted you to." Loki said with a cocky smirk.

"Well, how did you do it?" Thor asked. He sounded timid and sad, nothing at all like the Demigod that Darcy had come to know so well.

Loki's face sort of dropped when he turned towards his brother. "On Svartelaheim, when I was stabbed, It was all an illusion. So once you and Ms. Foster had left I returned to Asgard. I was the one who have you permission to go to earth to be with your love. Not father." He sneered. "I was the one who allowed you to follow your hearts desire." He sounded so broken and lost that for one singular moment, Darcy forgot the pain that he had cause others and realized the pain that he felt.

Thor had told Jane and Darcy all about Loki and their childhood. How Loki had always felt like an outcast, living in the shadow of his brother. How he thought of himself as a monster, so he became one. How he had been lied to all his life about who he really was and taught to hate the race he was unknowingly apart of.

And her heart broke for him.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this chapter is so short...

Odin gently pulled the dining hall door closed behind him before he turned to face Heimdall. "What is so dire that you would interupt my son's wedding?" Odin asked, his voice was authoritative and demanding even at a whisper.

"The Joutunn grow restless as they await your arrival. If you want to make peace with their new leader you must depart sooner rather than later." The gatekeeper replied. His golden gaze looked past his king, focused on something worlds away.

"We'll give them a little bit of time to celebrate and then I'll send them over this evening." Odin nodded his understanding before returning to the reception.


	10. Chapter 10

Darcy listened as the room gradually erupted into a low level roar; some people were whispering their crazy theories, others sat frozen in shock as they continued to let the reveal sink in, and the Avengers... well they were down right furious. They stared daggers at the sole man... god... person who destroyed their city; the man who murdered, used, and destroyed with the repent they thought he rightfully deserved. She didn't miss the way the way that Agent Barton's eye twitched ever so slightly every time he looked at Loki, it was clear that the assassin was itching to get a hold of the bow and arrows he held so dear.

"But seriously, how are you here? Big guy over there told us told us that you were dead, as in _not going to be here_." Stark started in his usual condescending tone. He looked down the row of seats at the other Avengers with a raised eyebrow, making sure they were all just as lost and confused as him.

"It wasn't real." Loki said simply with a slight shrug of his shoulders. As if the answer was obvious all along.

"Well clearly, 'cause you're here now." Tony said with a huff and an eye roll before he turned his chair to talk not-so-quietly to Pepper.

Loki seemed to sag into his chair with a slight frown as attentions shifted away from him; despite the fact that he had not intended to reveal himself at the time, he had hoped for a warmer welcome. He can't exactly blame them when he attempted to kill their King... and Prince... and succeeded in destroying the Rainbow Bridge, plus he blew up that Midguardian city, and that whole thing with Jane. Honestly, can't they they move past that? They might not have been his best moments perhaps, but they happened none the less. There's nothing he can do to change that now.

Just as Darcy was about to push back her chair and give the thought to be dead prince her thoughts on hanging around outside her room for the past few weeks when she saw movement out of the corner of her eye. Odin was slipping through the doors with his serious face in place.

He walked confidently towards Thor; who was quiet and still in light of everything. The heavy fall of the King's steps in the mostly quiet room grabbed everyone's attention, and the room gradually decresendo-ed into silent once more but Odin ignored them all as he focused intently on the dumbstruck face of Thor. His deep red cape fluttered behind him as he walked. Loki seemed to be growing anxious as his father grew closer.

Odin didn't even spare his adopted son a glance as he leaned out the huge table to whisper into Thor's ear. Whatever the grey haired king was saying made Thor's face fall into one of surprise and anger. He pulled away from his father to wave over the other warriors, everyone in the room watched with rapt curiosity as they made their way out into the hall.

"Please try and enjoy the rest of the celebrations, there is just some news that we need to discuss." The Lady Sif said with a dismissive wave before closing the door behind her.

"What the hell?" Jane said a few moments later. She turned to Darcy, eyes wide with surprise and confusion. "I mean, seriously, what the hell?"

"I don't know." Darcy answered with a resigned sigh. "I think that it'll probably be easier to just _not_ think about it." 

"I saw him die, I was there." Jane said quietly. "I thought that he had died trying to protect me."

"Yeah... I guess it's the thought that counts?" Darcy cringed as Jane looked towards the heaven for patients.

"Did he really hang around your room like a creep?" Jane side-eyed the man in question.

"Yeah." Darcy stretched the word out.

"How come you didn't say anything about a creepy guy  
lingering in the hallway?" Jane asked. Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"It didn't really seem like a big deal honestly. Plus, you and Thor were dealing with the wedding and it didn't really seem like it needed to be added to the lost of things you need to worry about." Darcy sighed and leaned forward onto the table, head in hands as she watched the crowd.

 

********************

"You must leave as quickly as possible." Odin said as soon as Sif had closed the large door. "The Jotunn grow impatient and tired, you must go establish peace before they think that they would rather not have it."

"And you are sure that they have no ulterior motive? This would be perfect for an ambush." Sif said after a moments pause, her dark eyes watched Thor pace a short length of the hallway while looking thoughtful.

"Perhaps, it is not a coincidence that the Jotunn demand immediate action as Loki returns. What if they knew? What if they want him? He is Lofey's son." Thor asked not only himself but the others as well.

"Heimdall says only that they grow restless in their wait for our visit." Odin says calmly. "And if there are some hidden motives behind the summoning, then you five will have to approach with caution. I do not know much about this new leader, he might be less forgiving then his predecessor. So, for the sake of the realm, do not insult them." His mouth quirked in an odd smile before he quickly grew serious. "You leave immediately. We want this done, and we want it done fast."


End file.
